Young Judy Hopps Episode One: The Spelling Bee (Short Story)
by JoeyJoBobJunior
Summary: Welcome to Greenfield elementary and the adventures of young Judy Hopps and her friends! The 2001 Greenfield elementary spelling bee is just around the corner, but when Gideon forces his best friend and three-time champ Travis to drop out of the competition so he can humiliate that 'stupid bunny', will his guilt overcome him? Chapter 3 is a hilarious must-read!
1. Chapter 1: Final Ferret Fantasy

A/N: _I hope you guys enjoy this short story! I may do these in between the Big Cheese saga stories just to give myself a break. Also, I think the answer to Mrs. Amadillo's math question is 22 minutes, but I'm not 100% sure. I was never good with scenario math._

 _I based Gideon and Travis' relationship off of Peppermint Patty and Marcie._

 **Introduction: Welcome to Greenfields Elementary!**

Greenfields Elementary is one of the few integrated schools in Bunnyburrow. With millions of bunnies throughout Bunnyburrow, many are segregated primarily to bunnies however, there are several school where predator and prey mix. Greenfields is one such school and back in the year 2001, it had one rabbit that would grow up to be a famous hero of Zootopia.. Let's look at our student lineup.

JUDY HOPPS (Bunny, Age 9&1/2): Judy's mother and father Stu and Bonnie would prefer she went to a segregated school, but Judy wanted to challenge herself and meet other species of mammals. Brave and determined, she has become a model student and loves to hang out with her best friend...

SHARLA (Lamb, Age 10): Sharla puts a lot of pressure on herself as she wants to have the same perfect attendance and perfect grades that her big siblings have. Adding to this pressure is a bit of a love triangle as she has a secret crush on Bobby Catmull and Travis the ferret has a secret crush on her. While she's proud of her grades, she's ashamed to be seen with her idiot brother...

GARETH (Lamb, Age 8&1/2): The pressures Sharla put on herself, Gareth's just slightly smart enough to know he's dumb enough not to worry about it. Gareth tends to get by mostly through dumb luck. He looks up to his big sister and wishes she wouldn't put so much pressure on herself.

JAGUAR (Jaguar, Age 10): A math genius, Jaguar is in with the nerd group known as the "A/V Club". He helps host a school news program on public access television with the help of his two friends. He tends to overthink things.

BOBBY CATMULL (Cougar, Age 9): A young cub who loves music, Bobby Catmull puts most of the music together for the A/V Club. He's also in the school band and can play a wide range of instruments. He's completely unaware of Sharla's crush on him. Like Judy, he helps defend the smaller mammals against the school bullies.

ERNIE (Eagle, Age 9): Out of everyone in the school, Ernie is the one picked on the most. Because of the great war, birds and reptiles are not well liked by mammals in general. Add being a video/tech nerd on top of that, and it's been hard for Ernie to make friends. The A/V Club has let him into their clique but are still suspicious of him and can't bee seen talking directly to him. Judy Hopps want to be friends with him, but peer pressure is forcing her to shun him as well.

TRAVIS (Ferret, Age 9): Travis is Gideon's sniveling, mean and cowardly sidekick. Picked on at a young age, Gideon unknowingly protected him from some lambs picking on him and he's been at Gideon's side ever since. Travis often calls Gideon "Captain" which gets on the fat fox's nerve. Despite his bullying ways, he has a high I.Q. And is a walking dictionary, often using large words in his speech _(I kinda stole that from Mead's version of him)_. He has a secret crush on the black lamb, Sharla and is a bit intimidated by Judy _(If you watch the movie, he ends up hiding behind Gideon when Judy shows up)_.

GIDEON GREY: (Fox, Age 10): The school bully, the menace. Everybody hates Gideon and Gideon hates everyone except Travis. An adversary and pain to Judy, but Judy refuses to be bullied by Gideon even after the now famous "Scratch Incident". Gideon has made it his mission to show everyone what a "stupid bunny" Judy is, but always fails. While Travis is very intelligent, Gideon's as dumb as bricks.

 **EPISODE ONE: THE SPELLING BEE**

Chapter 1: Final Ferret Fantasy

The spotlight bore an intense heat upon Travis, On stage and behind a podium, he was ready. He was poised. His only goal was to win. The crowd in the audience was in hushed silence and all the ferret could see in the darkened room was the silhouettes of the two teachers judging the competition. He could see the whites of their beady eyes through the darkness and those eyes tried to pierce through Travis' soul. But he would have none of that. He awaited their question.

"Okay Travis..." said the one teacher. "If you get this right, you'll win the world spelling bee championships and be considered the greatest speller on earth and supreme grammar king. The word is..."

Everyone sitting in the theater rose to their feet and leaned in to hear the final word.

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Travis was shocked. It was the biggest word he ever heard and even the sound of it was something quite atrocious. But still, he didn't break a sweat. "Can you use it in a sentence?"

"Not...really." The teacher replied.

Travis was a bit unsure, but deep down, he knew he could do it. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. S...U...P...E...R...C...A...L...ummmm...I...F...R...A..G...I...L...I...S...T...I...C..ummm.."

He gave a pause the crowd whispered to themselves. Would this be where he loses everything?

"E...X...P...ummm...ooohh."

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The pressure was getting to the ferret.

"I...A...L...I...D...O..C...I...O.U.S. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

There was a long, long pause. Finally, one of the teachers spoke up. "That is...CORRECT! You Travis Hunchedover are the world spelling bee champion!"

The crowd roared louder than any crowd had ever roared before. Sharla, the black lamb ran upon the stage and hugged Travis tightly. "Travis! You did it! You're so intelligent. I...I never said this before but...I like, like you!"

Travis smiled as a swell of pride and love swelled his heart. "I like, like you too Sharla!"

The audience chanted his name and lifted the ferret into the air. "Tra-vis! Tra-vis! Tra-vis!"

Travis pumped his fists in the air as he let the admiration of the crowd carry him. "Tra-vis! Tra-vis! Tra-vis!"

"Tra-vis! Tra-vis! Tra-vis!"

"Travis, what the heck are you doing?" said the skunk putting up a poster in the school hall.

Reality had hit Travis and his daydream was finally over. "Just finish putting up the sign-up poster for the spelling bee you odorous oaf! I wish to be the first put my John Hancock upon it!"

The skunk shouted down the hall. "Teacher! Travis said a dirty word!"

"No I didn't!" Travis argued. "Trust me my foul-odored friend, if I was to use a colorful metaphor, I would do so in a way that would go completely over your imbecilic head! Now give me that pen!"

Travis took the pen hanging off a string that was pinned with the sheet and signed his name at the top. "There! Now the three-time spelling-bee champion shall return for his fourth trophy!"

"Whatever." The skunk replied as he walked away.

Travis was incredibly excited. While he may be a fellow bully along with his friend Gideon, he excelled at grammar and spelling. He reveled in the fact that he was grammatically superior to his fellow students and despite many kids looking down on him, the spelling bee was the one time he could rise up and show his verbal superiority to the world. It was the one thing he looked forward to the most every year.

As Travis stared at the sheet, Sharla the lamb along with Judy Hopps approached. Travis' heart skipped a beat. He ignored every other lamb in the school, but there was something about Sharla's dark complexion that drove him wild. His infatuation with her was strong, if not borderline creepy.

"H-Hello Sharla! Lovely day isn't it?"

"Go away Travis!" Sharla shouted "You and Gideon Grey are nothing more than a bunch of bullies!"

"I am only vicious to those mammals smaller than my own frame or who would dare stand up to me. I would never bully you Sharla. You are an exotic ebony ewe."

"You and Gideon bullied me out of my tickets at the fair!"

"Incorrect! Gideon did the bullying. I was merely an observer."

Sharla was getting tired of the ferret. "Don't you have some lunch money to steal?"

"Not at this particular moment in time. Your wool smells exquisite today. Are you using a new conditioner?"

It was then that Judy got in Travis' face. "Back off Travis! Sharla wants nothing to do with you!"

The bunny gave Travis a slight shove which scared him. "EEP!" He started to leave, but gave a threat to Judy. "You shall rue the day you crossed me you...you lagomorph loser! Rue I say!" With that, Travis took off.

"I can't believe he's scared of you." Sharla replied. "He's twice as big!"

"Most bullies are cowards Sharla. If you show you're not afraid of them, they tend to back off." Judy then looked at the spelling bee sign-up sheet. "Y'know Sharla? You're smart and you get good grades in grammar. It also counts as extra credit. You should sign up for this!"

"Ooooh I don't know." Sharla replied with a bit of dread. "All my relatives would attend. I can't take that kind of pressure! What if I screw up if front of them and make a fool of myself? I'll be shunned by my parents! I don't wanna be the black sheep of the family!"

"Sharla...you literally ARE the black sheep of your family. Don't worry! It'll be great! Besides, I'll sign up with you and we can support each other."

With that, Judy and Sharla signed their names on the sheet. It was then that Sharla's little brother Gareth approached. "Hey thar, big sister! What ch'yall doin'? Signin' yer names?"

Sharla rolled her eyes. "Yes Gareth."

"Oooh I bet'cha I can sign mah name real good now without misspellin' it!" He took the pen and signed his name to the sign-up sheet.

Sharla was surprised. "Gareth! You just signed up for the spelling bee!"

"Thar's bees whut can cast spells?! Awesome! I can't wait ta see that!" The dumb sheep then ran off to his class.

Judy patted Sharla on the shoulder. "This is actually good news Sharla! We both know Gareth won't get too far in the spelling bee and you'll come off looking like a genius compared to him!"

"Not really. My whole family already knows his head's full'a bricks. Mah momma always says 'Ignorance is bliss and Gareth is the most blissful of us all.' "

Moments later, Sharla and Judy made it to their classroom. Bobby Catmull was there along with Jaquar, Ernie, Travis, Gideon and some other students.

The teacher, Mrs. Amadillo (pronounced Ah-Ma-Dee-Yo) came in and started roll call. "Okay class. you know the drill. Sharla Shearson?"

"Here." Sharla replied.

"Judy Hopps?"

"Here!"

"Jaguar Jaguar?"

"Here! And the first name is pronounced 'hog-u-are'."

"Alright. Alright. Ernie Talon?"

"Here!"

"Billy Goatberg?"

"Her-r-r-e!"

"Molly Mink?"

"Here!"

"Travis Hunchedover?"

"Present and accounted for!"

"Just say 'here' Travis. Bobby Catmull?"

"Here!

"Gideon Grey?...GIDEON GREY!"

"What?!" the fat fox huffed.

"You're supposed to say 'here'!"

"Ah am here! Ain't it obvious?! Y'all blind er somethin'?"

Some of the kids laughed. Mrs. Amadillo was not amused, "Watch your mouth Gideon or you'll be sent to the principal's office...AGAIN!"

"Yes teacher." Gideon Grunted.

The teacher moved around her desk. "Alright class, I want you to bring last night's homework to the front desk please."

The children all came and dropped off their paperwork to the desk with the exception of Billy Goatberg who sat at his desk and fiddled his hooves nervously.

The teacher knew what was up. "Billy?"

"...Y-Yes Mrs. Amadillo?"

"Did you eat your homework again?"

"No!...Yes ma'am. It's not my fault! I just finished it and then my stupid brother went and spilled Tabasco sauce on it! Do you know how good that homework tastes with a hint of Tabasco? Especially with that new printer ink they're using now! I couldn't help myself!"

"You are going to re-do that homework tonight along with your other homework or else you'll get a big fat 'F'. Understand?"

"Yes m-a-a-a'am." Billy said with his head hung low.

Gideon laughed. "HA! Ya'll should have just copied off Travis, like I did. Guaranteed 'A'!"

"GIDEON!" The teacher shouted. "Go to the principal's office immediately!"

"Aww dag-nabbit!" Gideon grunted as he left for the principal's office.

The teacher turned her attention back to the class. "Okay children. We'll be starting off today with math."

The entire class groaned. "Quit complaining!" The teacher shouted and she started writing on the chalkboard. "Now then! There are two trains that are forty miles apart. Both are traveling at 25 miles an hour. How long until they pass by each other?"

"That's impossible to say!" said Jaguar. "There are too many variables! What about traffic? Accidents?! Weather conditions?!"

The armadillo rolled her eyes. "Jaguar, there's no traffic and the weather's clear. It's just two trains going at 25mph on their respective tracks. There's no traffic at all! No people even!"

"So in your scenario, it's the apocalypse?! Gosh Mrs. Amadillo, you tell very dark stories."

"WHAT?! No! Its...okay, it's on a testing facility. Okay?!"

"Oooh! Are they on the same track?!" Ernie asked.

"Wha...I don't know! All that matters is when they meet!"

"It would be cool if they were on the same track!" Jaguar said. "Then when they meet up...KABOOM!"

The teacher had enough. "Fine! Fine! The trains are on a testing facility and on the same track. They're...testing the durability of the trains and the effect that happens when they crash, okay?! They are forty miles apart and are going exactly 25 miles an hour. How soon until they crash?"

Jaguar was about to ask another question. "But what about..."

"They are synchronized to start going at the exact same time okay? OKAY?!"

"Okay" Jaguar replied. "Bullet train or locomotive? You have to calculate wind factor."

"AAAAAHHHH!"

Hours later, it was recess. The children were either playing on the playground or eating their lunch in the cafeteria. Gideon was stalking his latest prey with his sniveling sidekick Travis behind him.

Billy Goatberg had just got his sack of lunch out when Gideon grabbed him by the hairs of his chin. "Gimmie that lunch!"

With a defiant look in his eye, Billy took his lunch sack, opened his mouth and swallowed the whole sack all at once. He then took his can of soda and instead of popping open the can, just put it in his mouth and chewed it. Foamy liquid flying everywhere.

Gideon was furious. "You little jerk! Yer lucky ah'm in trouble with the principle or ah'd pound you right now!" Gideon then walked away.

"Fear not my captain!" Travis told his friend. "For I have illegally and forcefully apprehended enough monetary goods for us both!"

"First off..."Gideon said. "...Fer the last time, don't call me 'Captain'. Second, what are y'all talkin' about?"

"I stole enough lunch money for both of us."

Gideon smiled as he patted his friend on the back. "HA-HA! That's great buddy! Ah knew there was a reason ah kept yew around!"

They got their meal from the cafeteria and sat down. They had some small talk as they were eating. Travis started talking first. "Did you see captain? The spelling bee championships is next week! I already signed my name at the top of the list."

"Y'all mean ta say they got bees whut can spell?"

"No captain!"

"Stop callin' me captain!"

"Yes captain."

" _SIGH!"_

"Anyway, The spelling bee is a contest of grammar and who can spell the most words correctly. So get this, I strolled by the list on the way here to see who else would dare challenge my verbal knowledge and do you know who put themselves on the list?"

'Course not! Ah aint psycho!"

"Uhhh..I think you meant 'psychic' captain."

"That's whut ah said!"

"Anyway, it's that rotten rabbit, Judy Hopps!"

"That stupid bunny? Let's make her look dumb!"

"Not a problem captain! I have won the past three years in a row and this will be my fourth trophy! She won't stand a chance against me! Sadly, my dear Sharla has entered as well. I hate to humiliate her."

"Well ah love ta humiliate everybody! Ah'm in!"

Travis was shocked at the news. "Wh-what?! Captain please! Let me handle this!"

"Ah been wantin' ta humiliate that bunny fer some time now. Besides how hard can it be?"

"Y-You'll have to spell some very difficult words!"

"So whut? Ah'll Just have ya teach me some o' them more tricky words and we'll crush that stupid bunny and lamb together. It'll be a cinch! Watch this! Cat. K-A-T, Cat!"

Travis face-pawed himself. "It's going to be a looonnng week!"


	2. Chapter 2: When Travis Met Gideon

Chapter 2: When Travis Met Gideon

A/N: _Two chapters down, two to go! Maybe just one depending on how long chapter 3 goes. Speaking of, it's the climax of the story and is full of humor, heartbreak and heartwarming scenes. I've been playing around with it in my head for days and I think it's gonna come off well._

 _By the way, if you're enjoying this story, please fee free to leave a comment. If there's things about it you don't like, feel free to comment also. I take constructive criticism well._

Judy Hopps was sitting at the table in the cafeteria with her best friend, Sharla and some of Judy's brothers and sisters who went to the same school. Ever since Judy stood up to Gideon at the "Carrot Days" festival, her younger siblings have been looking up to her. She was making small talk with the young ewe. "Well, Sharla, before Mrs. Amadillo had her mental breakdown and tucked into a ball, I was gonna say the answer to the math question was probably 22. Sharla? Earth to Sharla!"

Sharla was staring across the tables at Bobby Catmull who was sharing a table with Jaguar. Ernie was at the table too, but at a distance.

Judy saw how distracted Sharla was with her crush on Bobby and decided to tease the lamb. "So I was think about taking the dressing from my green salad and squeezing it all into my big ears so I can save some for later. What do you think?"

"Mmmmm...Yeah. That's nice." Sharla blissfully said, not paying attention to a word out of Judy.

Judy had enough. "Why don't you just go over and ask him out?"

This knocked Sharla out of her daydreaming. "Wh-wha?! I-I can't just go over and do that! What if he says 'no'?! What if...if he laughs at me?!"

"Bobby's a real nice guy. He would never laugh at you!"

Gareth popped up out of nowhere and got in on the conversation. "Yeah. He'd reject yew all polite-like ah reckon'!"

Judy just rolled her eyes. "Gareth. You're not helping!"

"Sorry. I don't see wut the big deal is. If''n ya like him, just ask him out. Gettin' a sweetie ain't hard! Just watch me!"

Gareth got up on the table which confused Sharla. "Gareth! What are you doing?"

Gareth looked around Judy's crowd of siblings. "Alright Judy's sisters, raise yer paws if'n yer between the ages of 8 and 9."

Four paws went up. "Now, if'n ya'd like me as yer boyfriend, keep yer paw up!"

All sisters put their paws down except one. "Hmmm...Ya got a broken bucktooth but beggars can't be choosers. Okay! Yer my girlfriend now!"

The bunny girl squealed with delight as Gareth took her paw in his hoof and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "See Sharla? Ain't nuthin' to it! Stop bein' so shy! Now if'n you'll excuse me, me and my new lady love..uhhh...what's her name anyway?"

"Tee-Hee! Jilly!"

"Ah'm gonna treat mah new girlfriend Jilly to a snack at the vendin' machine. See-ya!"

Gareth took off with his hoof in Jilly's paw and the girls were still surprised. Judy laughed "Wowzers! Can't get more to the point than that! Well I don't know if I approve of Jilly getting Gareth as a boyfriend, but he does have a point. Just go over and ask him!"

Sharla quickly gulped down a glass of milk to calm her nerves. "Y-You're right! Gareth's right too! I still can't believe that. Anyway, I'm gonna talk to him right now!"

She hopped off the bench and made her way towards Bobby. Judy cheered her on. "Go Sharla!"

"SHHHH!" Sharla shushed back. Every step forward was filled with fear. Slowly, she approached. Bobby's table.

Bobby noticed her right away. "Hi Sharla! What's up?"

Her fear and nerves where starting to take over. "H-Hi! I-I-I w-was wondering if...ummm..."

"If what?" Bobby asked.

"If...Ummmm...IF I CAN BORROW SOME NAPKINS! We're all out at our table." She couldn't do it.

"Uhhh sure." Bobby reached over and gave her and handful of napkins.

She quickly snatched them and ran off. "Thank you!"

The lamb ran back to her table and used the napkins to cry into. Judy patted her head. "It's okay Sharla. It's just baby steps. I believe you'll be brave enough someday."

Jaguar and Ernie saw the odd exchange. "What was that all about?" Ernie asked.

Jaguar didn't look directly at him but responded. "I think Sharla likes Bobby."

"N-No she doesn't!" Bobby said, looking at Jaguar. "...Does she?"

"She seemed real nervous just asking for napkins." Ernie replied. "Can't either of you look at me?"

"You KNOW we can't!" Bobby replied. "Look, you're our friend, but you're an eagle so technically, you're the enemy. We can get in big trouble with our parents if someone finds out we're friends with you."

Ernie bowed his head and sniffled.

"This stinks!" Jaguar said. "Ernie's never did anything bad! Why is HE getting punished for what happened in the past? I mean, we're predators too!"

"But our kind hasn't eaten prey in centuries." Bobby argued. "Birds like Ernie's parents still do. Not to mention the birds and reptiles were segregated from the mammals after the great war."

"They don't eat any one from Bunnyburrow!" Ernie argued. "I'm only here because my dad's business moved out here and he was a work visa. He gets his rabbit meat imported outside of the country and I only eat insects along with fruits and vegetables!"

"Your parents eat rabbit meat?!" Bobby said.

"I don't!" Ernie argued. "And please don't tell Judy or any bunnies!"

"We won't." Jaguar said. He then went onto change the subject. "Are we doing the spelling bee broadcast for community access television?"

"Yup." Bobby replied. "I'll be composing and performing the music of course, Ernie will be setting up the cameras and you'll be doing commentary since you can't be in the spelling bee this year. Not after...'the incident'."

"Hey! It was a good strategy, but it just backfired."

Ernie spoke up. "Not to change the subject back, but Sharla's been using those napkins to cry into."

"Are you sure?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. She's trying to make it look like she's just blowing her nose. There's also a spider going across the floor that no one's noticing and Judy's brother just peed his pants a tiny bit. Enough that he can just pass it off as a stain."

Jaguar was impressed. "How can you see all this?!"

"Eagle eyes dude. I can see everything."

Jaguar then nudged Bobby. "Maybe she's crying because she blew the chance to ask you out. Ask her out instead!"

Bobby got nervous. "I-I-I couldn't!"

Jaguar then had a good idea. "Oooh! You should write her a song and serenade her!"

Bobby's ears perked up. "Yeah!...Maybe...I dunno."

Ernie got happy as he saw his lunch. "Oh cool! Dad got me a cup of nightcrawlers! He must have went to the bait and tackle shop!" He started sucking up the large worms like spaghetti.

Bobby and Jaguar were grossed out. "EWW! Well, now we have a good reason not to look at you."

After school, everyone went their separate ways. Gideon followed Travis to his house. "Ah'm thinkin' maybe if'n ya tutor me enough, I can get good enough at spellin' ta beat that stupid bunny!"

"Captain, I'm starting to ponder that your obsession with the female leporidae may have subtle romantic implications you may not be aware of."

"Say wut now?"

"Nothing captain. We shall journey back to my establishment and I shall help make you more grammar efficient."

"Grammar-Shmammar, I jus' wanna learn how ta spell good."

And so, days went by. Sharla and Bobby still hadn't gotten the nerve to ask each other out and Travis was working hard to get Gideon to learn how to spell well, but it just wasn't holding up. Nothing he did was working.

The ferret was frustrated. "Alright. Try again and remember the golden rule. 'I before E except after C or when sounding like A as in 'neighbor' or 'weigh.' "

"This is so stupid! Even that rule makes no sense because there wuz at least TWO words y'all taught me that had that break that dumb rule that already has exceptions like 'science' and 'species'. It don't make no sense! Ah'm getting' ticked off! It's like ah'm doin' homework for nuthin'! Ah quit!"

"Oh! Well in that case, Allow me to defeat miss Hopps in your stead."

"Ah don't want you to do it in my stead, ah jus' want you to take my place and beat her!"

"That's what I just... _SIGH!_ Nevermind."

Just then, Travis' dad walked past the young ferret's bedroom and was talking without anyone around. "That's right Carl. We should order at least twenty cases."

Gideon looked over in confusion. "Yer daddy's gone crazy! He's talkin' out loud to himself!"

"He's talking to one of his clients on his bluefang earpiece captain." Travis replied.

"Say wut now?!"

"It's a wireless device that goes on your ear and has a very sensitive microphone. You can walk around with your flip phone in your pocket and talk paws-free!"

Gideon was impressed. "That's COOL!" But then, he had a thought. A mean, nasty thought that would crush poor Travis' dreams. "Ah gots me an idee'r! You forfeit yer turn this year. Ah'll wear the bluefang earpiece on stage under a cap and y'all stay behind the stage and give me all the correct spellin's! That way, we'll both beat that stupid bunny at the same time!"

Travis was upset. "WHAT?! No! I'm the three-time spelling bee champion of our school! That trophy means everything to me! It's the one accomplishment in my life that makes my mom and dad really proud! I can't just give that all up!"

"Aww so what?! I'll let ya keep th' stupid trophy afterwards, okay? Ah jus' need ta beat her!"

Travis stood up for himself. "...No captain."

Gideon got angry. "Wut did you say?!"

"I said NO! Captain, you are taking away the one thing I love as much as our friendship and I cannot let you do that!"

An upset Gideon got up slowly and walked calmly over to Travis who was starting to get nervous. His fi9sts were tightening as he stood over the ferret. "Now lookee here! Y'all got two choices. We either go with my idee'r and humiliate that stupid bunny...or you and me are through! You really wanna stop bein' buddies over a stupid spellin' bee?"

Travis was put into an impossible situation. He loved taking part in and winning the spelling bees, but he also loved having Gideon as a friend. His mind flashed back three years ago to his first day in kindergarten. A six year-old Travis was walking nervously to his first day of school when he was stopped by two bunnies and a beaver. They were malicious, little bullies.

"Wut y'all got in the backpack?" Asked one bunny.

"Oh! Just a pencil, some crayons and papers and my lunch. Two hot bugs and a salad."

"Well I like salads." Said the other bunny. "Why don't y'all give 'em to us!" With that he gave Travis a shove.

Travis started to get scared. "L-Leave me alone! I am not interested in a confrontation!"

"You say a lot of big, stupid words!" Said the beaver who bit Travis' tail.

"OW!" Travis yelled as one of the bunnies grabbed his backpack. Travis quickly held onto it. "That's mine! Let it go!" He cried.

They shoved Travis to the ground and made him cry. They all started pointing and laughing at him. But all of the sudden, the beaver and one of the bunnies dropped the backpack and ran off. The last bunny was confused. "Where are you going?!" He asked as a large shadow cast over him. He looked up and screamed. The shadow belonged to Gideon Grey.

"C'mere!" Gideon yelled as he grabbed the bunny by the arm and twisted it. "Gimmie yer lunch money!"

"OWWW-HA-HOOWW!" The bunny screamed as he threw some money on the ground.

Travis was elated to watch as the bunny who picked on him was now the victim. Gideon however was disappointed in the amount the bunny threw on the ground."Three bucks?! That's pathetic! Now tell everyone that yer a stinky poopy-pants or I'll break yer arm!"

"I-I'm a stinky, poopy pants!"

"LOUDER!" Gideon yelled as he twisted the bunnies arm further.

The bunny started screaming. "AAA-HAAAA! I'M A STINKY, POOPY-PANTS!"

Gideon then threw him to the ground. "Now get outta here!"

The bunny ran off holding his arm and crying. Travis couldn't be more happier. "HA-HA! That was great! You sure showed..."

Gideon wasn't done bullying. He grabbed Travis by the shirt. "Now you give me YOUR lunch money or yer gettin' worse!"

"I-I brought a sack lunch."

"Then gimmie that!"

"Oh no, sir! You deserve much better than a sack lunch!" Travis fished some money out of his pocket. "Here's my allowance! It was worth every penny!"

Gideon was surprised. "Wow! Ten bucks?!"

"And there's more where that came from! My name is Travis. I'm new here and a bit weak. All the little ones gang up on me. I can take them one on one, but they always come in groups. I could use an ally like you to help even the odds."

"Say wut now?"

"I'd like for you to be my friend so I can have some protection."

Gideon didn't care. "Ah don't have any friends and ah don't need none anyways! Jus' keep givin' me yer money and ya won't get beat up!"

The rest of that day however, Gideon couldn't shake Travis off of him. He'd sit next to him during class and in the cafeteria. Then, during recess, Gideon went to play on the swing and Travis helped push him.

"Ah don't need no help swingin'!" Gideon protested, but Travis helped anyway. As Gideon swung back, Travis grabbed the seat of his swing and pulled forward hard. Gideon was swinging faster and higher than he ever had before. "HA-HA! WHEEE! Keep pushin' harder!" Back and fourth they went. He was swinging so hard, that the swing set itself was starting to come off it's foundation in the ground. Sure enough, the entire swing set tipped over causing Gideon to land on his butt and two smaller mammals on the swing set fell hard and cried to the school nurse.

Gideon just laughed. "HA-HAAA! That was awesome!" He cheered.

"Then will you be my friend?" Travis asked.

"No! Ah told y'all before, ah don't need any friends!" Gideon yelled and he stormed off.

After school, Travis picked up his backpack and headed home. As he turned the corner, he saw the same gang that bullied him this morning. "You don't have that fat fox around now! You're gonna pay for my arm!"

Travis ran in the other direction and the kids chased him. He got around a corner and the little bullies followed only to knock right into a wall. A wall called Gideon.

The two bunnies ran, but Gideon caught the beaver. "Now listen up bucktooth! You tell yer little friends that Travis here is off limits! He's mah friend! You hurt him, ah'll hurt you ten times worse! Ya got that?!"

"Y-Y-Yes sir!" The frightened beaver said as he picked himself up and ran off at top speed.

Gideon just walked past Travis and kept going. After about twenty feet, he looked behind him. "HEY! You comin' or not?!"

"Lead the way captain!" Travis replied. As he ran to Gideon to walk beside him.

" 'Captain?' "

"Yeah! You're the captain and I'm your faithful crew."

"Whatever. Mah mom's bakin' a raspberry pie tonight. Y'all want some?"

"Sure!" Travis replied with delight. The two then walked off together.

Travis' mind snapped back to the present. He knew what his answer was. He had tears in his eyes. " _SNIFF!_ O-Okay. We'll go with your plan."

"Hot dawg! Ah knew you'd see it mah way! Like ah said before. You can have the dumb trophy, ah jus' want to humiliate that stupid bunny."

"One problem. My parents will be there. I'm the returning champion so everyone will expect me to be there too!"

"Jus' get on stage, act like yer sick and run off to the back! Easy! So, are we good?"

" _SIGH!_ Yes captain." Travis replied. Bowing his head in sorrow.


	3. Chapter 3: The Bee To End All Bees R1

Chapter 3: The Bee To End All Bees. Round One

A/N: _There's a few characters in this story I've really enjoyed writing. Travis with his large vocabulary, Gareth as the idiot savant and in this chapter, Jaguar with his crazy passion for spelling bees._

 _My one problem with the characters is that our main character Judy has been almost completely reactionary and doesn't have much of a personality compared to other cast members. I'm finally able to give her one during her "heel turn" near the end of this chapter and it's been fun to see her act up._

It was the day of the spelling bee. A small crowd entered the school auditorium. The parents and family of the contestants were eager to see how well their kids did. Over half the audience was made up of Judy's family including her parents, Stu and Bonnie. The A/V club was getting everything ready. Bobby Catmull was on the keyboards while Ernie the eagle was working the camera and co-hosting with Jaguar on commentary for the community access television. "Good afternoon everyone! I am Jaguar Jaguar along with Ernie Talon and welcome to the drama, the passion and the horror that is the 2001 Greenfield Elementary spelling bee!"

"The horror?" asked Ernie.

"You weren't here last year when Leslie Lambchop accidentally spit out her retainer when spelling 'spaghetti' and it went down Mrs. Mole's blouse."

"Yikes!"

"The crowd is coming in and taking their seats while the contestants are heading to their podiums. We've got four new contestants this year, along with returning champion, Travis Hunchedover."

"Travis looks depressed Jaguar."

"That's weird. This spelling bee is his favorite school thing."

Gideon was hiding behind his podium and testing the bluefang. "Testin'! Testin'! Travis. You there?"

"I'm two podiums over and yeah, it's working. Just keep your voice at a minimum volume."

"Yeah. Ah should be a bit quieter too." Gideon was surprised as he stood up from the podium, he saw his mother in attendance. "Momma? Wut are you doin' here?!"

"A'hm here to support mah little alpha! Why didn't yew tell me y'all were in this spellin' bee? Honey, ah'm so proud of yew fer wantin' ta improve yerself like this! Win or lose, ah couldn't more happy!"

She hugged her son close. This was an unexpected surprise for the little fox. While he was scared to death of his abusive father, he loved his mother very much. He felt a great swelling of pride, but then he realized something. He had nothing to be prideful for. He was going to be getting the answers from Travis. He also understood why Travis loved this competition. He understood the pride and love Travis must feel from his parents watching. He felt a bit guilty for taking Travis' moment, but not guilty enough not to go through with cheating to beat Judy.

"Okay everyone take your places" said Mrs. Amadillo One of the two teachers in attendance for judging. "Now, let's see if everyone is ready. Travis?"

"I am prepared for battle!"

"Judy?"

"I'm ready!"

"Gideon?"

"Yer goin' down bunny!"

"One more outburst like that and you're disqualified. Sharla?"

"I-I'm ready!...I think."

"Gareth?"

"RELEASE THE BEES!"

"For the last time Gareth, there are no actual bees in a spelling bee."

"Everyone's introduced and the spelling bee is about to begin." Jaguar "Ernie, what do you think they're strategy should be going in?"

"Uhhh...I think they should do their best to try to spell the words correctly?"

"You have to do more than that! Distractions are important. Give a big cough in the middle of their spelling to throw them off their game. The last spelling bee I was in, I distracted my opponent by biting her leg."

"You bit her leg?!"

"Yeah, but it was a bad strategy. I was instantly kicked out and banned from all spelling bees. But they can't stop me from commentating Ernie! They can't stop me from commentating."

The teachers focused their attention on Travis. "Our first round will commence. Travis, your word is 'Bound'...Travis?"

Travis still didn't want stop competing. He looked over at Gideon who gave him a dirty look. He knew what he had to do even though every fiber in his being told him not to. He faked being sick. "Ooooh! my intestines! I must relieve myself at the nearest restroom!"

"Are you okay Travis?" Mrs. Amadillo asked.

"I have unnnnh...explosive diarrhea!"

The teachers cringed. "In that case, hurry! But if you're not back by the end of the first round, I'm afraid you'll be disqualified."

"Understood ma'am." Travis ran off the stage and past Bobby Catmull. Bobby watched as the ferret slowed his running when getting to the restroom. The ferret even paused for a moment before going in, shedding a tear.

" _What's going on there?"_ Bobby thought.

Gideon had his head down and was talking quietly to Travis. "Heh-Heh! 'Diarrhea'. Good one! Nobody questions that!"

Judy saw the odd exchange. "What are you doing Gideon?"

"None of your business! I'm uhhh...praying."

"Oh! Well that's nice"

The teachers then put their focus on Judy. "Okay Judy, you get Travis' word. 'Bound'."

"That's easy. Bound. B-O-U-N-D Bound."

"Correct. Gideon, your word is, 'slouch'."

"Slouch hunh?"

Travis heard him and gave him the correcting spelling. "It's S-L-O-U-C-H captain."

Gideon repeated it back. "Slouch. S-L-O-U-C-H captain. I mean, slouch."

"Correct. Sharla?"

"B-A-A-A-A-H! Sorry! I got startled."

Some people in the audience chuckled. The teachers were not amused. "Your word is 'shear'."

"Can you give me the definition? There are two different spellings of that."

"Shear: To shave off wool or fur."

"Okay. Shear. S-H-E...A-R! Shear."

"That is correct."

"WHEW!"

"Okay Gareth. Gareth? Please face the other way."

"Say wut now?"

"It's your turn."

"Okay! Gimmie the dice!"

"IT'S NOT THAT KIND OF GAME!" _Ahem!_ Your word is 'quart'."

"Okay!...What do I do with my word?"

"You spell it!"

"Oooh..Let's see...quart." The lamb sneezed. "KEEYOO!" He then saw a rabbit he's been fighting with. "YOU!" He gave the rabbit a dirty look and the rabbit just stuck his tongue at him. As the rabbit passed, he saw one of his friends. "Aaaay! Artie!" He waved at the boy.

The teacher responded "Q-U-A-R-T is correct."

"Sorry fer that distract-shun! Ah'm ready ta spell mah word."

"...You just did. You were correct."

"I was?! Dang! Ah'm so smart, I forgot when ah answered the question!"

Sharla couldn't believe Gareth's dumb luck. She pounded her head on the podium. Gareth was watching her. "Watch'a doin' sis? Does that get all the smarts to the top of yer brain? Lemme try!" Gareth started pounding his own head on his podium.

The teacher then called for Bobby. "Bobby Catmull?"

"Yes ma'am?" The cougar answered.

"Please go check on Travis, if he's not back in three minutes, he's disqualified."

Jaguar commentated on the matter. "This is a dramatic moment ladies and gentlemen! Travis Hunchedover could lose his opportunity for a fourth championship if he doesn't come back. His parents look concerned. Could the ferret's own bowels cost him his championship run?!"

Bobby peeked into the bathroom. "Travis! Are you there?"

" _SNIFF!_ GO AWAY!" the ferret yelled.

"Travis! You have to come back right now or you're disqualified!"

"I...I'm not coming back."

"Why not?!"

"I already explained you feline fool! I have massive diarrhea!"

"Then why don't I smell anything? I have a super-sensitive nose."

"Uhhh...courtesy flush?"

"What's going on?!" Bobby crawled under into Travis' stall.

"HEY! Respect my privacy!"

"You have all your clothes on. What are you doing with that flip phone?"

"None of your business!"

"...You're helping Gideon cheat aren't you?! Why do that?! This is costing you your championship!"

"Because he's my friend! I'd do anything for him!"

"Even lose the one thing you love about school? He's using you! A true friend doesn't treat you like that!"

"You don't understand! I was always picked on. I'm a scrawny coward. Gideon helps protect me and I help him. He's the only friend I've ever had. He's my captain. My big brother. He wants to make Judy look dumb so I'm helping him even if it costs me my trophy. I don't care! I'd do anything for him. Please don't say anything! I swear I'm not cheating on the phone or anything. I'm still competing technically, just...through Gideon."

Meanwhile on stage. Judy noticed that Gideon was looking sad. He was overhearing everything that Travis was saying to Bobby and starting to sniffle. "Are you okay?" the little bunny asked.

"Sh-Shut up! Of course ah am! Mind yer own dang business!"

Bobby came back out. "I'm sorry. He's too uuhhh...sick to participate." He then gave a dirty look to Gideon.

Travis' mother ran over to Bobby. "This is awful! Is he going to be okay?"

"He should be fine." Bobby replied.

Gideon patted her on the back. "Don't chew worry none Mrs. Hunchedover! Ah'm givin' him 'da trophy after ah win!"

She petted the fox on the head. "Thank you Gideon. You're such a good friend. Travis is blessed to have someone like you to watch out for him."

This was like an emotional punch in the gut for Gideon. He knew the truth. He made this all about him and his vendetta against Judy. But there was no turning back now. Travis was out of the competition.

Two more rounds came. Near the end of the third round, it was Gareth's turn.

"Gareth, your word is...'silhouette'...Gareth?"

Gareth was asleep. His head resting on the podium. "ZzzzzzzZZZzzzzz"

Sharla tried to wake up the lamb by nudging his shoulder. "Gareth! Little brother, wake up or you're out of the competition!"

"ZZZZzzzzz Just five more minutes mommy! Ah won't miss the bus. Ah promise!"

"Looks like Gareth is now out of the competition." Jaguar commented. "What an insane spelling bee! We've gone from five to three contestants and no one has actually misspelled yet! It's getting close folks! Who will walk away with this year's trophy?"

The fifth round was on. Judy and Gideon (thanks to Travis) had gotten their words right. Sharla was up next. The teacher looked at her paper. "Okay Sharla, your next word is...'nonsensical'."

"Then give me a better word! Heh-Heh!...Heh!..." Nobody laughed. " _SIGH!_ Okay, here goes. Nonsensical...N-O-N-S-E-N-S...E-C-A-L. Nonsensical.

"That is...incorrect. I'm sorry."

"A-A-Are you sure?"

"Yes. There's no second 'E'. I'm afraid you're out."

A depressed Sharla went over to Gareth to get both of them off the stage. "C'mon Gareth. Let's go see our folks."

"zzzZZZzzzzz"

"GARETH!"

"zzzWUH?! OH! Silhouette. S-I-L-H-O-U-E-T-T-E. Silhouette."

"That is correct!" The teacher replied. "But I'm afraid you're too late."

Sharla's jaw just dropped. "YOU got that right?! YOU?! Life is so unfair."

"How'd we do Sharla?"

"We're both out."

"That's alright. Ah just wanted ta do this with you. Ah reckon' if'n ah follow yer lead, I'll be as smart as you someday."

Sharla kissed her brother's forehead. "You're already smart Gareth. Just in your own, special way. Now let's watch Judy beat Gideon."

Jaguar went back on commentary. "We're down to the last two contestants folks! It's Judy Hopps against her arch Nemesis, Gideon Grey! Who will take the glory and who will bring shame to their family?!"

"Isn't 'shame to their family' a bit much Jaguar?" Ernie asked.

"Don't you know anything about TV Ernie?! You've got to build up the drama!"

The teacher gave Judy the next word. "Judy, your next word is...'impracticality'."

"Wowzers! That's a big one! Hmmm...Impracticality. I-M-P-R-A-C-T-I-C-A-L-I-T-T-Y. Impracticality."

"...That is...incorrect."

A big gasp came from the crowd. Gideon cheered. "Haw!-Haw! Ah won!"

"Not yet!" Said the teacher. "When it comes down to two opponents, the remaining player still has to get their word right on their round. You don't win just because of where you were placed."

"This is huge!" Shouted Jaguar. "Judy got her word wrong. If Gideon gets this right, he'll be the spelling bee champion! Who could have seen this coming?!"

Gideon dipped his head down to talk to Travis. "We got this buddy!" He whispered, but he heard no reply. "...Travis?"

He heard some sniffling and sobbing. "Y-Y-Yes captain. You'll... _SNIFF!_ Y-You'll win for certainnnn!"

"Buck up buddy! Ah'll still give you th' trophy! Ah promise!"

Gideon looked up to see his mother smiling and in tears. She was so proud of him. Yet, he had nothing to be proud of. A horrible feeling was going into gut. "C-Can Ah have a time out?"

"Sure." Said the teacher. "I think we can all use a quick break."

"Oh thank goodness!" Judy said. "I've been holding it in for an hour!" She quickly ran off to the bathroom.

Gideon had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he walked past Bobby. "Feeling sick cheater?!" Bobby said.

"Sh-Shut up! And yeah. A little. Ever since ah heard Travis cryin' and seeing my momma all proud like, it's been like ah got punched in the gut. What's wrong with me?!"

"It's called 'guilt' stupid!" Bobby replied. "You hate yourself for taking Travis' glory and you hate that your mom's proud of you without knowing you're a fraud!"

"Shut yer mouth! You don't know me! You don't know nuthin'! All ah gotta do is win this contest and that feelin' will pass!"

"No it won't!" Bobby said. "You'll hate yourself even more. If you truly care for your friend, you'll stop this lie now!"

"Ah baloney!" Gideon said as he got a drink of water and headed back to the stage.

Moments later, Judy was back on stage with Gideon. The spotlight was on the fat fox and it felt searing. The feeling in his gut had not gone, but now felt worse.

"This is it ladies and gentlemammals!" Jaguar commentated. "If Gideon gets this right, he'll be the 2001 Greenfield champion! He looks a bit sickly. It must be the stress of the moment."

The teacher spoke up. "Okay Gideon, you get this right and you win the trophy. Your word is...'conscientious'."

"...Right." Gideon said. "Conscientious..."

Travis was sniffling and crying the answer back to Gideon. "SNIFF! C...O.."

"Uhhh...C-O..."

"Eh-eh-N...S...C..."

"N-S...C... _SIGH!_.."

"Ah-aaah..I...EEE...N...tah-tah..TEEE! Baw-Haw!.."

The guilt was too powerful for Gideon to handle and he burst. "I... _Sniff!_...E...N...RRAAAHH! AH CAN'T TAKE IT NO MORE! AH QUIT! AH CHEATED! AH CHEATED!"

The audience gasped as Gideon smashed his podium. "Gideon just confessed to cheating!" Jaguar commented. "This is unprecedented in the history of spelling bees! In all of my ten years on this earth, I've never seen anything like this! Who could have seen this coming?!"

Gideon pointed at Judy. "But you're STILL a stupid bunny! Travis was giving me all the right spellin's from inside the bathroom. He could have beaten you easily! Get out here Travis!"

An embarrassed Travis came out and Gideon put his arm over him. "This guy is smarter than all y'all! He played the contest through me! He should be the winner, but ah had to hog all the glory. Ah'm a bad friend! Ah'm a bad son! Ah'm sorry Travis! Ah'm so sorree-hee-heeeAAAAHH!"

As Gideon cried and confessed some more, the knot of guilt in his stomach loosened. "Teachers please! Give Travis a chance to answer the word in mah place! He deserves a chance!"

"Are you kidding?!" Mrs. Amadillo replied. "You're BOTH disqualified! In fact, you're also both banned from future spelling bees at this school!"

Travis started bawling. Gideon hugged onto Mrs. Amadillo's legs. "NO! NO! Please! The spellin' bee's everything ta him! He only agreed ta cheat because ah made him! It's not his fault!"

"You two think you can cheat and get away with it?! Judy Hopps is this year's spelling bee champion and that's that!"

Judy watched as he saw Travis crying his eyes out to his mom as Travis's father yelled at Gideon. She had an idea. A wicked, but wonderful idea. She cheered from the podium. "I WON! I WON!" She cheered. She then mocked Gideon and Travis. "Ha!-Ha! I won and you two losers are banned for life!"

The crowd was shocked. A huge gasp came from all those in attendance. "What's this?! Judy Hopps has become a sore winner! It's a heel turn no one was expecting! She's so O.O.C. Right now! This spelling bee has been the most topsy-turvey one I've ever attended! They said I was mad when I said that spelling bees were the world's greatest spectator sport! Well who's mad now?! Muahaha! MUAHAHAHAAAA!"

Ernie thought he was nuts. "Dude. Chill."

"You chill!"

Judy then grabbed the trophy before they could engrave it. "Gimme that!" She then ran up to the stage. "Nyah! Nyah! In your stupid face Gideon and Travis!"

Gideon was getting really upset. "I outta deck you! Yer terrible! Kickin' a feller when he's down!"

"Like you can talk you big, fat bully!" Judy replied. "You two are pathetic. Travis couldn't beat me on his best day anyway!"

Travis was really upset. "I could take you on easily! You would not stand a chance against my grammatical superiority!"

"Then put your money where your mouth is! I'll go one on one with you and even put my championship on the line! We start at round five!"

Jaguar's mouth was open with a look of complete shock and joy, but nothing was coming out. Ernie was concerned. "Jaguar? Jaguar buddy?"

"DO IT!" The jaguar screamed. He then started ripping off his shirt in a complete state of hype. "DO IIIIT!"

The teacher was getting upset. "Jaguar knock it off! You're completely out of order!"

"You're out of order! You're out of order! This whole bee's out of order!"

Travis stared down Judy and accepted her challenge. "You're on!"

"YEEEESSS!" Jaguar screamed.

Judy looked at the teachers. "Is that okay with you two?"

"I think it's exciting!" said Mr. Owlson. "Plus I'm mad at you for yanking the trophy before I can engrave it. I paid good money for this engraver and barely get to use it! Mrs. Amadillo?"

"Ehh. What the heck? Might as well keep this spelling bee on the crazy train. But Judy? You've been a very poor sport, so if Travis wins, he not only gets your trophy, but he's no longer banned from spelling bees and YOU will be! Got it?!"

"Got it Mrs. Amadillo." Judy replied. "Let's do this!"


	4. Chapter 4: The Bee To End All Bees Fina

Chapter 4: The Bee To End All Bees. Final Round

A/N: _Final chapter folks! Thanks for reading and sticking with me through this short story. I wanted to do something that was a change of pace and something cute too. Would you like to see more of Judy's school life? Let me know in the reviews. Until then, let's finish this!_

"Welcome to CAT T.V.! Community Access Television covering all of Bunnyburrow! This is Jaguar Jaguar coming at you LIVE from the Greenfield Elementary Spelling Bee where chaos has erupted after a contest full of lies, deceit and snoozing has ended with Judy Hopps as the current champion. Gideon Grey admitted to cheating through his friend Travis. Gideon convinced Travis to bow out of the competition to make himself look good and humiliate Judy, but the overwhelming guilt of hurting his best friend got to him! Sadly, this caused Travis and Gideon to be banned from spelling bees forever. But then when all hope was lost for the ferret, Judy took a shocking heel turn and became a sore winner, boasting about how great she was. She then challenged Travis to a one on one spelling rematch for the championship. If Travis wins, he gets the championship and is un-banned and Judy herself will be banned instead! The rematch of the century is about to begin!"

"Great chapter 3 recap Jaguar." Ernie said. "I can't believe Judy challenged the three-year champ! As they say, 'The pride goes before the fall' and Judy may have bitten off more than she can chew. Let's watch!"

Judy and Travis were at their podiums. Mr. Moleson started the proceedings. "Okay, Judy as you are the defending champion, you'll be going first."

"Just a moment!" Judy replied as she bent over.

"Just what on earth are you doing?" The teacher asked.

"I'm rubbing my feet for good luck."

" _SIGH!_ We're starting at round five so the words are going to be difficult. You're word is...'pontificate'.

"Hmmmm...language of origin?"

"Roman."

"Definition?"

"To express an opinion in a way that you think is always right."

"Hmmm...Pontificate...P-O-N-T-I-F...I-C-A-T-E...Pontificate."

"That is...correct! Travis, it's your turn. Your word is 'exasperate'."

"Exasperate...E-X-A-S-P-E-R-A-T-E...Exasperate"

"That is correct." Mr. Moleson said.

Judy was shocked. "You didn't even ask for a definition or language of origin! Just...BAM! Got the word right! That exasperates me!"

Travis chuckled. "Heh-Heh! Yer messin' with the best, cottontail!"

As Judy and Travis verbally dueled back and forth, Gideon approached his mother with shame in his eyes. "Ah'm sorry mamma. Ah wasn't expectin' you here and...and you were so proud of me but...ah didn't deserve it. Ah was a fraud!" He started to cry. "You deserve a better son!"

Gideon's mother hugged her close. "Looks like your 'allergies' are starting up again."

" _Sniff!_ Yeah!" Whenever Gideon started crying, he'd always blame it on allergies.

"Gideon, ah'm VERY proud of you! In the end, you did the right thing and confessed yer sin! You defended your friend and apologized for bein' deceitful. It's tough to do the right thing when your knee-deep in doin' what's wrong, but you pulled through and now yer friend has a shot at winnin'."

"Thanks mamma!"

"Now, ah'm gonna head back home and make yew and Travis a nice, raspberry pie. See y'all there!"

"Mah favorite! Yer the best, mamma!"

"Thank ya kindly."

Back and fourth Judy and Travis went. Round after round. Judy was having a bit of a tough time, but Travis wasn't breaking a sweat.

It was Travis' turn. ""Quadrilateral...Q-U-A-D-R-E-L-A-T-E-R-A-L...Quadrilateral."

"That is...incorrect!"

A huge gasp came over the crowd. Travis was upset with himself. "Shoot! It was probably an 'I' instead of an 'E'! I got cocky!"

"Travis got the word wrong!" Jaguar commentated. "I'd say I was on the edge of my seat, but this is so intense, I'm standing up now!"

The teacher turned his attention to Judy. "Okay Judy, if you get this right, you win the spelling bee. Your word is...'concatenation'."

"...What the heck is that? I mean, definition?"

"Concatenation is a group of things linked together in a series."

Judy was nervous. She was happy that Travis got a chance, but she still was giving it her best. "Concatenation...K-O-N-C-A-T-E-N-A-T-I-O-N. Concatenation."

"That was...incorrect! You used a 'K' where there should have been a 'C'."

"Ooooh! Why do those two letters need to sound the same! I wasn't sure which one to use!"

Jaguar was getting excited. "It's a dead heat again! We are at round twelve and this is still going! It's anyone's ball game now!"

Ernie chimed in. "Technically, it's a spelling contest and not a ball game."

"Ernie, I love you like a brother, but if you make another comment like that, I'll slap your beak off!"

The teacher turned his attention once again to Travis. "Travis, your word is...'Braggadocio'."

"...I'm stumped!" Travis admitted. "I've never heard this word!"

"This is a real claw-biter ladies and gentlemammals!" Jaguar said. "In fact, I already nibbled the non-sensitive parts of my claws down to nothing. Ernie, can I borrow one of your talons?"

"Okay!"

" _Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom!"_

" _Hee!-Hee!_ That tickles!"

"Definition?" Travis asked.

"Braggadocio. The annoying talk of someone who's trying to sound very proud or brave. Example 'Judy Hopps spoke with Braggadocio after she won.' "

Judy was a little miffed. "Hey! Now you're just picking on me!"

Travis still wasn't sure. "Language of origin?" Travis asked.

"Italian."

"...Spelling?"

"B-R-A...NOW CUT THAT OUT!"

"Wow! That was a good strategy on Travis' part." Jaguar commented. "It didn't work, but it was definitely worth a try."

Travis gave it some thought. "Braggadocio...B-R-A-G...hmmmm..."

A hush formed over the crowd. "...G-A-D-O-C-I-O. Braggadocio. I hope there's two 'G's'. I'm not sure."

"...Travis?"

"Yes?

"There ARE two 'G's' and you are correct!"

The crowd cheered, the contest was tied once more and it was Judy's turn once again. "Okay Judy..." said the teacher. "It's your turn once again. Travis got his last word right but you didn't, so if you miss this one, you lose and Travis wins. Got it?"

" _GULP!_ Yes Mr. Moleson. I'm ready!"

"Judy, your word is...'pronunciation'."

"I'm looking at the spelling folks." Jaguar said. "This seems easy, but actually can be misspelled easily. Can Judy pull it off, or will this bunny be the shame of her litter?!"

"Again, a bit too melodramatic Jaguar." Ernie replied.

Judy was confident. "Whew! I thought you were gonna give me a hard one! I got this! Pronunciation. P-R-O-N-O-U-N-C-I-A-T-I-O-N. Pronunciation."

A hush fell over the crowd as the teacher spoke up. "That is...incorrect!"

"WHAT?!" Judy exclaimed. "What part is wrong?!"

"There is no second 'O'. It's pronounced. 'Pro-NUN-ciation'. People often mishear and misspell it as 'pro-NOUN-ciation'. Common mistake. You do know what this means don't you?"

"...I-It's Travis' turn?" Judy replied with a hint of fear.

"Noooo..Travis Hunchedover has WON and is the NEW 2001 Greenfield Elementary spelling bee champion!"

Judy dropped to her knees in fake angst. "NNOOOO!"

Jaguar was jumping up and down. "He did it! Travis has beaten Judy! This is the greatest spelling bee ever!"

Bobby Catmull started playing on the keyboard. " _Weeee are the champions. My friennds!"_

Judy was a little upset. "Bobby!"

"Sorry Judy. I had to play it regardless of who won."

Gideon ran up to the stage and hugged his friend. Lifting him in the air as he spun the ferret around. "You did it Travis! You did it!" He then pointed at Judy and taunted her with a song. _"HA-HAAAA You're a stupid bunny!"_

Mrs. Amadillo was having none of that. "Gideon Grey, you stop that this instant!"

Travis took the trophy cup off of Judy's podium. "I'll be taking this!"

Judy reached out. "Nooo! My trophy!"

"I'll give you this Judy Hopps, you were a worthy opponent."

"Awww! Thanks Travi- I mean! It was a fluke! Mr. Moleson gave me a trick question!"

"So long Cottontail!" Travis said as he left the podium.

Judy was still on her knees overacting. "Curse you Travis Hunchedover! Oh, how I rue the day I challenged you! I rue it so! I'm more full of rue than a kangaroo!"

"Did you hear that Gideon?!" Travis said with joy. "She said she rues the day she crossed me! Just like I told her she would!"

"Yeah!" Gideon said. "And ah bet she regrets it too! HA-HAA! This is the best day!

"Excuse me for a moment captain. I need to have this engraved." He then walked over to Mr. Molseson. "Can I make a special request for the engraving?"

"Sure thing son. I rarely get to use this engraver, so I'd be happy too. What do you want it to say?"

Travis whispered into the mole's ear. "Really?! Are you sure?!"

"Positive sir."

Meanwhile, Sharla, Gareth and Judy's parents went up to the stage. Judy was still overacting.

"Oh Sharla! My hubris has done me in!"

"Okay, okay. That's enough." Sharla replied.

"I had the trophy in my paws!...And now,...it's gone! I was Icarus and flew too close to the sun!"

Judy pulled herself up by grabbing Sharla's clothes. "My wings Sharla! They're melting!"

"Okay, you sure seriously milking it Judy. Knock it off!"

Judy brushed herself off and started acting normal again. "Sorry. I felt sorry for Travis, so I made sure he had a happy ending."

Stu was concerned. "You didn't let him win on purpose, did you Pumpkin?"

"No daddy! He beat me fair and square. I just wanted him to have at least the chance that he deserved after Gideon confessed what happened. That's why I acted up."

"Some acting." Bonnie replied. "I hate to say this honey, but if you're career goals are being a cop or being an actress, stick with being a cop."

Meanwhile, Gideon and Travis were on their way out when they were stopped by Jaguar and Ernie who were still broadcasting. "Travis! Travis! A moment of your time?"

"Most assuredly." The ferret replied.

"You originally disqualified yourself to help your friend Gideon win, but after an insane swerve in where the winner, Judy Hopps had challenged you for her championship, you managed to pull off a HUGE victory. How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling? I am elated! Joyful! Delighted! Exuberant! Rapturous!"

"Yeah!" Gideon added. "And he's real happy too! Now if'n ya don't mind kitty cat, me and muh pal are gonna take this big ol' cup and fill it up with slushie at the Seventh Heaven!"

Travis laughed. "Yeah! It's 'bring your own cup' day! Wait'll they see us walking in with this big thing!"

"Let's go buddy!" Gideon picked up Travis and put him on his shoulders as they walked out. "Tra-vis! Tra-vis! Tra-vis!"

Jaguar and Ernie (with the camera on his shoulder) then walked over to Judy who was chatting with Sharla. "Judy Hopps! You challenged Travis for your championship right after winning the trophy! Why?! It cost you dearly!"

"I'm a competitor Jaguar. I don't wanna win due to a bunch of disqualifications. I got lost in the spirit of competition and I let my ego get the best of me. But I wanna say something to Travis!"

Judy then looked at the camera. "Travis! You're a paper champion! A pen and paper champion! That trophy's mine! It was a fluke! Mr. Moleson gave me a trick question. I may be banned from competing in spelling bees at Greenfield, but I'll challenge you anywhere, anytime! You hear me?! This ain't over!"

As Jaguar was wrapping up his interview, Sharla appraoched Bobby who was packing up his musical equipment. She was still being shy about asking Bobby out."So! S-Some spelling bee hunh?"

Bobby was being shy as well. "Oh! Ummm...y-yeah!"

"Sssssoooo...What are you doing this weekend?"

"Me and Jaguar are gonna hang out and see 'Mammals Inc'. We're gonna sneak Ernie in too. Our parents don't like us hanging out with him, but he's a great guy."

"That's cool. Me and Judy might go see the same movie sooo...maybe we'll hang out with you?"

"Sure! I mean...maybe...Sharla?"

"Yeah?"

"Ummmm... _SIGH!_ Nevermind."

Sharla was walking away disappointed when Gareth made a comment. "Y'all are bein' dumb! And ah'm an expert on that subject!"

Just as she was walking away, Bobby shouted out. "WAIT!" Everyone turned around.

"Look! I'm...I'm kinda shy in a lot of ways, but not when I'm singing onstage. Soo...hold on one moment." He searched in his bag of instruments. "Where is it? Trumpet? No. Sax? Na-Ah. Keytar? Eeeehhh. Ah! Perfect!"

He got out a ukulele. "Just let me tune up a sec." He twisted the strings on the instrument. "Hmmm _Yoouu_...Nope. _Youuuuu_...There we go!" He then looked at the black lamb. "Sharla, I wrote this for you so I hope you like it."

Sharla's eyes lit up. A huge smile came across her face. "For me?!"

Bobby then played the ukulele and sang.

"AHEM! _You'rrrre the... cream in my coffee, honey in my tea."_

" _You make my heart buzz like a sweet honey bee!"_

" _Oh Sharla! Will you go out with meee?!"_

Sharla giggled and jumped up and down enthusiastically.

" _From your heavenly hooves to your eyes of blue."_

" _You're a heck of a lamb! You're my ebony ewe!"_

" _Oh Sharla! Will you go out with meee?"_

" _We can go sailing or if that's failing"_

" _Just take a stroll by the lake."_

" _I'll buy you a salt-lick to go with our picnic."_

" _Then have some ice cream and cake! Ooooh!"_

" _The sweet smell of your wool just makes me 'mew'."_

" _What I'm trying to say is I really like you!"_

" _Oh Sharla! Will you go out with meee?"_

" _Yeah Sharla! Will you got out with meee?"_

Sharla loved it. She became so overwhelmed by the song that she was light-headed. "I...I...OoooOOOoohh!"

As she fainted and fell backwards, but Judy and Gareth caught her. "I think that's a 'yes'!" Judy chuckled.

Meanwhile, Gideon had Travis on his shoulders and they were singing on their way to the Seventh Heaven liquor store. _"Weeee are the champions! Weeeee are the champions! No time for LOSERS cuz WE are the champions! Of the worrrld!"_

"HA-HAAA!" Gideon cheered. "Especially over a stupid little bunny!" He then stopped and took Travis off his shoulders. "Okay Travis, ummm...ah gotta talk to you."

"Yes captain?" Travis asked.

"...Ah ain't good at stuff like this soI just gotta say...ah'm sorry. Ah almost took your moment away from you and that ain't right! Ah was a bad friend."

"It's okay captain! You did come through in the end and that was the sweetest victory I've ever had! In fact, I'm giving the trophy to you."

"Dangit Travis! Ah already said ah didn't want yer trophy!"

"It's okay! I'm getting a ribbon and my picture on the wall too. Besides, it's already engraved with your name on it. Take a look!"

Gideon picked up the trophy and read it. "Awarded to Gideon Grey. World's best..." Gideon's lip started to tremble and his eyes watered. " _SNIFF!_...World's best...f-friend. Awww Travis buddy!"

Gideon hugged his ferret friend close as he started to sob. "Ah ain't cryin'! Ah just have allergies!"

"I know captain." Travis replied.

Just then, Billy Goatberg rode by on his bike. "Get a room you two!"

An embarrassed Gideon stopped hugging Travis and was enraged. "Let's get him!" Gideon started to run towards the goat.

"Right behind you captain!" Travis replied as he ran too. The two chased Billy all the way over the hill.

 **THE END**

 _(_ **Possible) Next Episode: Triple Date**

Sharla's parent's aren't too comfortable with Sharla going on a date with Bobby because he's a predator, even if it's a double date with Gareth and Jilly Hopps, so Sharla convinces Judy to find a date herself so she can tag along and her parents won't be worried. Unfortunately for Judy, the only one interested in a date with her is Travis and Travis only wants to date Judy to keep an eye on his new enemy, Bobby Catmull.

 **Next Fanfic: The Wedding Recetion A Musical in Text**


End file.
